
Text -- Psalms 109:24 (NET)




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collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)
JFB -> Psa 109:24-25
JFB: Psa 109:24-25 - -- Taunts and reproaches aggravate his afflicted and feeble state (Psa 22:6-7).
Taunts and reproaches aggravate his afflicted and feeble state (Psa 22:6-7).
Clarke -> Psa 109:24
Clarke: Psa 109:24 - -- My knees are weak through fasting - That hunger is as soon felt in weakening the knees, as in producing an uneasy sensation in the stomach, is known...
My knees are weak through fasting - That hunger is as soon felt in weakening the knees, as in producing an uneasy sensation in the stomach, is known by all who have ever felt it. Writers in all countries have referred to this effect of hunger. Thus Tryphioderus Il. Excid. ver 155
"Their knees might fail, by hunger’ s force subdued
And sink, unable to sustain their load.
Merrick
So Plautus, Curcul, act. ii., scen. 3: -
Tenebrae oboriuntur, genua inedia succidunt
"My eyes grow dim; my knees are weak with hunger.
And Lucretius, lib. 4: ver. 950: -
Brachia, palpebraeque cadunt, poplitesque procumbunt
"The arms, the eyelids fall; the knees give way.
Both the knees and the sight are particularly affected by hunger.
Calvin -> Psa 109:24
Calvin: Psa 109:24 - -- 24.My knees are become feeble Though David had the necessaries of life, yet he emaciated himself by voluntary abstinence, to which, as well as to pra...
24.My knees are become feeble Though David had the necessaries of life, yet he emaciated himself by voluntary abstinence, to which, as well as to prayer, he gave himself, and therefore we may regard this verse as expressive of his sorrow and sadness. We may also understand it as expressive of his having no relish for meat or drink, knowing, as we do, that persons who are in sorrow and sadness have no appetite for food; even life itself is burdensome to them. Should any one prefer restricting the interpretation to David’s being in want of the necessaries of life, when he hid himself in the dens of wild beasts, to escape the fury of his enemies, and was then subjected to hunger and thirst, he may do so. It appears to me, however, that by this language he intends to point out the extreme anguish which he felt, because, with death staring him in the face, he loathed all food; and this is in accordance with the next clause, in which he says, my flesh faileth of fatness; because “a sorrowful spirit drieth up the bones,” (Pro 17:22) By the term, fatness, some understand delicacies; meaning that he was deprived of all that food which is pleasing to the palate. The more natural way is to consider it as denoting his becoming emaciated by reason of grief and fasting, inasmuch as the natural moisture was wasted. Another proof of his sad situation arises from this, that, according to what he states in Psa 22:7, he was held in scorn by all. It is, indeed, a sad and bitter thing which God’s children endure, when they are made to feel that the curse which he denounces against the transgressors of his law is directed against themselves; for the law says to the despisers of it,
“Thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and laughing-stock,” (Deu 28:37)
With this species of temptation David was assailed; and he declares that he was not only regarded as a condemned person, but also cruelly derided; God at the same time coming in for a share of it; for it is usual with the ungodly to conduct themselves with insolence and pride towards us when they see us oppressed under afflictions, and, at the same time, to rail at our faith and piety, because God renders us no help in our miseries.
TSK -> Psa 109:24
TSK: Psa 109:24 - -- knees : Psa 22:14, Psa 35:13, Psa 35:14, Psa 69:10; Mat 4:2; 2Co 11:27; Heb 12:12
my flesh : Psa 32:3, Psa 32:4, Psa 38:5-8, Psa 102:4, Psa 102:5; Job...

collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)
Barnes -> Psa 109:24
Barnes: Psa 109:24 - -- My knees are weak through fasting - Hunger; want of food. Strength to stand is connected with firmness in the knee-joints, and hence, weakness ...
My knees are weak through fasting - Hunger; want of food. Strength to stand is connected with firmness in the knee-joints, and hence, weakness and feebleness are denoted by the giving way of the knees. Compare Heb 12:12.
And my flesh faileth of fatness - I am lean and weak. There is not the proper supply for my strength. The idea seems to have been that fatness (Hebrew, oil) was necessary to strength.
Poole -> Psa 109:24
Poole: Psa 109:24 - -- Through fasting either with voluntary fasts, to which the frequency and long continuance of my calamities obliged me; or with forced fasts, sometimes...
Through fasting either with voluntary fasts, to which the frequency and long continuance of my calamities obliged me; or with forced fasts, sometimes through want of necessary provisions, but most commonly from that loathing of meat, which was occasioned by his excessive sorrows and terrors. See Poole "Psa 58:8" .
Of fatness or, for want of fatness. See the like Hebrew phrases Gen 18:26 Jer 48:45 Lam 4:9 .
Gill -> Psa 109:24
Gill: Psa 109:24 - -- My knees are weak through fasting,..... Either voluntary or forced, through want of food or refreshment; this was verified in Christ, when he kneeled ...
My knees are weak through fasting,..... Either voluntary or forced, through want of food or refreshment; this was verified in Christ, when he kneeled and prayed, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground; see Psa 69:10.
And my flesh faileth of fatness; or "for want of oil" k; the radical moisture of his flesh being dried up like a potsherd, Psa 22:15.

expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Psa 109:24; Psa 109:24
NET Notes: Psa 109:24 Heb “and my flesh is lean away from fatness [i.e., “lean so as not to be fat”].”
Geneva Bible -> Psa 109:24
Geneva Bible: Psa 109:24 My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh ( n ) faileth of fatness.
( n ) For hunger that came from sorrow, he was lean and his natural moistur...

expand allCommentary -- Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis -> Psa 109:1-31
TSK Synopsis: Psa 109:1-31 - --1 David, complaining of his slanderous enemies, under the person of Judas devotes them.16 He shews their sin.21 Complaining of his own misery, he pray...
MHCC -> Psa 109:21-31
MHCC: Psa 109:21-31 - --The psalmist takes God's comforts to himself, but in a very humble manner. He was troubled in mind. His body was wasted, and almost worn away. But it ...
Matthew Henry -> Psa 109:21-31
Matthew Henry: Psa 109:21-31 - -- David, having denounced God's wrath against his enemies, here takes God's comforts to himself, but in a very humble manner, and without boasting. I....
Keil-Delitzsch -> Psa 109:21-25
Keil-Delitzsch: Psa 109:21-25 - --
The thunder and lightning are now as it were followed by a shower of tears of deep sorrowful complaint. Ps 109 here just as strikingly accords with ...
Constable: Psa 107:1--150:6 - --V. Book 5: chs. 107--150
There are 44 psalms in this section of the Psalter. David composed 15 of these (108-110...

Constable: Psa 109:1-31 - --Psalm 109
This is one of the imprecatory psalms in which the writer called on God to avenge his enemies.
